Although Google’s research lab, Google X, has spent considerable time and resources developing cars that can pilot themselves thanks to high-tech sensors, Google remains tight-lipped over its broader plans for the vehicles. If the company decided to jump into the ride-hailing game, it would immediately create huge problems for Uber, which is not only a recipient of Google Ventures funding, but needs Google Maps in order to operate its service.

Uber has its own self-driving vehicle project in development, in conjunction with Carnegie Mellon University, but such efforts are years behind Google’s initiative. In 2014, Google announced that its self-driving cars had spent a good portion of the previous year cruising the streets of Mountain View, California, where the search-engine giant is headquartered. At the time, a press information officer for the Mountain View Police Department told the media that local law enforcement hadn’t cited any of the self-driving cars for traffic violations, which suggests a certain degree of technological sophistication on the cars’ part.

Google claims that its self-driving cars have become much better at detecting the hundreds of objects and situations that arise in the course of driving down a typical street, such as other cars, people, cyclists, and train crossings. But more development—not to mention government lobbying and public outreach—is likely necessary before Google can take those cars “in the wild.”

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Author Bio

Nick Kolakowski has written for The Washington Post, Slashdot, eWeek, McSweeney's, Thrillist, WebMD, Trader Monthly, and other venues. He's also the author of "A Brutal Bunch of Heartbroken Saps" and "Slaughterhouse Blues," a pair of noir thrillers.